^[1][1]Clarification of our ‘brand’.

 

Over the years, this Council has used different names when reaching out to parents. You may have seen “Parent Council”, “Parent Advisory Council”, “School Advisory Council” and “School Parent Council”.  To ensure clarity, as well as more accurately reflect the Ministry of Education legislation supporting the function and purpose of School Councils, the name “LHS School Council” will now be used exclusively.

Have an idea or concern?

Your School Council wants to ensure that everyone feels welcome at Council and understands how to put their thoughts forward.  There are two main pathways for parents to have their ideas supported at Council.

1. Attend a Meeting.  All parents are welcome at any meeting.  Bring your thoughts, ideas, questions and concerns to the meeting and you will get the time to discuss it.  At every meeting there will be an opportunity for new issues to be raised and put before the group. You can also contact the Chair/Co-Chair a week prior to the meeting to have your item placed into the Agenda. 
2. Contact a Council Member.  Council Meeting attendance is not a necessity to express your ideas or thoughts.  You are more than welcome to contact any Council Member and they will attempt to answer your question or bring your ideas or concerns to the Meeting on your behalf.  A very good place to start is with the Co-Chair and/or Secretary.  

Levels of Involvement.

There are many levels at which to get involved in your child’s education through the School Council.  Most don’t take up a lot of time, as Council initiatives are usually group efforts with a few people doing portions of the work.  Council operates best on a ‘the more the merrier’ system. 

Suggestions for ways to get involved:

• Come to a meeting and contribute whenever you can.
• Read the minutes for information on initiatives that are underway and where you might want to assist. If you have ideas that are helpful, please let your thoughts be known.
• Contact any Council Member and ask them where your assistance might be needed.

Council meetings.

The first 30 minutes of the meeting are dedicated to ‘information transfer’.  Parents are welcome to attend just this portion of the meeting if they wish – to hear from and engage with Principal and Student Captains – it is a great way to get an understanding of what is going on within the school.

Current specific Council initiatives will then be reported on, discussed and appropriate decisions made.  At every meeting there will be ample opportunity for new issues to be raised and put before the group. 

At LHS, we strive to ensure that our School Council maintains the openness of the dialogue that currently exists.  At this time, our Council is fairly casual with just enough ‘structure’ to allow an effective and efficient use of everyone’s time, while not burdening the Council meetings in procedure. This balance between structure / procedure and informality / flexibility evolves over time to meet the needs of the parents attending.

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Meeting Schedule on the school website. A sample agenda is also available on the school website and each meeting’s agenda is distributed by the School in the Friday email before each meeting.  Meetings begin at 6:30 PM and generally adjourn around 8:30 PM. 

Your input makes a difference.

It is through the School Council that Principals and school boards, in turn, must consult with school council members on a variety of matters that affect student learning. They must also consider recommendations made by school councils and report back to the councils on how they plan to act on their advice.  Principal Cocco’s reports are very informative and provide Council with excellent background on which the Council makes decisions.

‘Members’ of School Council.

Every parent with a child/children at LHS can become a member

The Decision Making Process.

It is a very simple and efficient process.  Decisions are made after open discussion with everyone present at a meeting.  The Chair keeps us on topic and at the appropriate time asks the floor for a ‘motion’ on a decision.  A vote by all those present who are eligible to vote decides the outcome of the issue.

Voter Eligibility.

At the present time, and subject to change by Council, all council “members” are eligible to vote, including the Student Captains. The Principal is a non-voting Council member.   As a parent, in general, attendance at a meeting currently establishes your membership; therefore, if you are in attendance, you can vote on any matter before the Council.  A minimum attendance requirement (number of meetings) or a formal election requirement, in order to vote, may be adopted in the future.

Current Council Initiatives:

The primary focus of the Council is on the following initiatives

1.  Reaching out to Parents – Goals are to ensure that all parents

a.  know that the Council represents them and is a resource for all

b.  understand their input contributes to the success of their children’s education

c.  feel comfortable in approaching the Council, and

d.  know how to participate in Council

2.  Understanding the needs of the Students and Teachers – Listening to the students and teachers to understand how the School Council can help them and acting upon those findings.

3.  Caring and Safe Schools – Goal is to ensure all students feel safe at LHS

4.  Speaker Series – Council has hosted two very successful events over the past two years by presenting speakers who have touched on issues which are relevant and important to education as they relate to our students.  Council will continue this program this year and we are currently discussing the subjects that are most appropriate to address.  Parents are encouraged to make suggestions on issues that concern their children or themselves.

For more information on LHS School Council please feel free to contact anyone of our members or Principal Barbara

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